Black String of Fate

"I've been here a few times, there's nothing here. If you're making a fool of me, I'll make sure to…"

"Ah, wait! Don't be impatient. Come inside first."

With a doubtful gaze, Xavier followed Hyuk inside the house, and as he expected, it was completely empty. Xavier was about to draw his sword when suddenly Hyuk bent down and began knocking on the floor.

"Praise the Holy Flame.

Praise the Holy Sun.

Praise the Heavenly Demon."

Hyuk muttered these words and waited for a few seconds. To Xavier's surprise, the seamlessly continuous floor suddenly detached from the ground, and another hooded man popped out of his head.

"Brother Hyuk, is this the new recruit?" The new person asked while pointing his chin towards Xavier. Hyuk simply nodded and the hooded man left, giving him and Xavier passage and permission to continue.

Xavier was impressed by the hiding skills of this Demonic Cult. Even someone like him couldn't tell that there was a trapdoor. However, he never even tried to look for them, so who could blame him?

"Follow me, Brother Xavier. You'll now meet the branch head who oversees this entire western province."

"Oh, this entire province? How strong is he?"

"He's a Master. Be sure to treat him with respect."

"A master, huh… I'll keep that in mind."

Xavier followed Hyuk inside the trapdoor, entering a dark hallway. Soon, the empty corridor led to an opening well-furnished with tables and chairs. Xavier could see multiple people wearing dark clothes like Hyuk, with the difference being the colors of the highlight design being different.

'The uniform colors must determine their ranks…'

Overall, the whole place gave off the vibe of a shady tavern, with Xavier noticing a bar with drinks being offered. He felt multiple eyes landing on him, so like any sane person, he responded by glaring at them back.

"..."

The spiritual pressure the Demon King exuded was enough to silence the bar and make the atmosphere heavy. All those who looked at him subconsciously lowered their eyes, making Xavier satisfied with their response.

"Please, follow me without making trouble, Brother Xavier." Hyuk said after he very obviously had grasped what was going on. Xavier shrugged and said,

"I don't like people trying to test me. Not one of them is worthy."

This reply once again provoked the entire atmosphere, but no one said anything, remembering the horrid feeling they felt when Xavier glared at them. Even though they could see that he was a Novice Initiate, their guts had told them of the danger he possessed. It was like provoking a primal demon.

Hyuk just sighed and went ahead, Xavier followed him, and soon after, he reached a secluded office far away from all the noise.

"Here is the office of our branch leader. He's a respected Advanced Master, please do not provoke him like earlier."

"Jeez, fine. By the way, you guys have a washroom? Nature calls."

"...Take the second left turn after walking along this corridor." Hyuk said while having an indescribable expression. Even though he knew about his talents, he was too crass to be an honorable warrior.

Xavier walked off and soon arrived at the washroom. Contrary to what he expected of a secret hideout, it was neat with proper facilities. He locked himself inside one of the stalls and brought out a weird-looking stone he had hidden.

'Alright, I just need to pulse my energy into this… Tellphone, right?'

Xavier concentrated and let out a small pulse of his inner qi into the stone. The stone reacted with small sparks igniting inside of it, and soon, a dim glow shone at the core of the stone.

'Hello, Xavier. Can you hear me?'

A feminine voice sounded out inside Xavier's mind, surprising him quite a bit.

'I can, in my mind. It feels weird to communicate with someone like this. Just how did you make this?'

'Hmm… It's a lot of technological stuff that you wouldn't understand. Anyway, I can also hear you in my mind, so the communication is private and secure.'

'I wouldn't understand, huh… Well, whatever. You mages create the weirdest stuff out there. Back to the topic, I wanted to inform you that I've successfully infiltrated a base of the demonic sect.'

'...Huh?! Already?! How?! They are so secretive that I was pulling my hair off trying to find more info about them!'

'As you predicted, they were the ones who approached me. Now, I am about to meet their boss, at least in this area. What should I do?'

'Hmm… How strong is the boss?'

'An Advanced Master.'

'W-what?! That's a pretty high rank! Just how high have you sneaked in?'

'No idea, but I did hear some guy mention that they are in charge of all the bases in the province. That should be pretty high up.'

'...If they brought you to this branch, that means they must highly value your talent. An advanced master is equal to the elite of this kingdom, so presenting the head of such a figure would be enough to raise alarms in the royal court.'

'So, should I kill him or not?'

'Can you? It's an Advanced Master, and that too of the demonic sect. However skilled you are, you are still an Initiate Novice. I don't think it's a great idea.'

Xavier felt provoked by such a statement. He suppressed his anger and said in a challenging tone,

'Just tell me if you want him dead or not. Don't question my abilities. I may have some trouble escaping after killing him, but I'm damn sure I can kill a measly master.'

'...Alright, I'm going to trust your capabilities. When you want to escape, just crush the Telephone, and then you'll be safe.'

'The miracles of this Tellphone never end, huh? Alright, the next time we meet, it'll be along with the head of this master.'

'Like I said earlier, it's Telephone, not Tellpho-'

*beep*

Xavier broke the stream of energy he supplied to the stone, cutting the contact before that magician girl became annoying. He put the stone back into his clothes and exited the bathroom.

'An Initiate Novice killing an Advanced Master… If it was me before my regression, I never would've imagined something like that. But now…'

Xavier maniacally smiled, thinking about the soon-to-be extraordinary achievement he was going to put under his belt.